Summer Daze
by Sabrina06
Summary: What happens when two friends start to become more than friends? Sorry, not Phineas/Isabella.


**I do not own Phineas and Ferb.**

It was a typical summer's day, in a typical backyard of a typical house on a typical street. Two very extraordinary boys were sitting under an old Oak tree enjoying the last few hours of the day. "That was the best!" An overly excited redhead exclaimed. "Who would have ever thought that would have gone that far?" The other, a very quiet boy, just shrugged his shoulders.

A group of girls were coming out of the front door of a house and crossed the street to enter through the back gate to their friends' yard. "Whatcha' doin'?" Isabella, the tall raven-haired girl asked the boys. "Just relaxing now that everything's done for the day and everyone else has gone home." The slightly shorter neighbour boy responded. "Thank's for helping out today, we never could have pulled this invention off without your guys' help." He continued with a smile. The group of girls all looked at their leader, when Gretchen spoke up "Are you going to…" The rest of the girls glared at her as if she'd done something wrong. "Phineas… and Ferb. The Fireside Girls and I were wondering if you guys would like to attend a regional campfire with us tomorrow night." Isabella finally asked. "I mean to say, it's for Fireside Girls, yes of course, but also for any family or friends that they'd like to bring along." She finished. The brothers looked at each other. The green-haired one shrugged his shoulders and while looking directly at his brother shifted his eyes in a manner that indicated that if Isabella was going to put forth such an invitation, then maybe Phineas should stop talking about maybe becoming "more than friends" with her and ask her if she's all right with that. "Sure, sounds like fun. What do we do? Is there anything we need to bring?" Phineas asked the Fireside Girl troop as a unit. "I'll send you an e-mail tonight with the information you need okay?" Isabella told him. The girls had to leave for an evening meeting and then the backyard was quiet once again.

"Blankets." Ferb said. "Sorry, what are you talking about Ferb?" Phineas asked his normally quiet brother. "We should probably make sure that we either have blankets or sleeping bags for the campfire." Ferb repeated himself, something he doesn't like to do, but finds that more often than not he has to. Especially when it comes to talking to Phineas. He then got up and went into the house, leaving Phineas to sit under the tree by himself to "think things over".

"It's not fair!" Candace yelled at everyone and no one. "I try so hard to get the boys busted but it never happens! Why can't anyone see that I'm just trying to make sure that they don't hurt themselves while they're busy doing something completely dangerous and possibly illegal?" Ferb stopped at the kitchen door to listen to his sister's rant. "We do get City permits prior to doing major building projects you know." He informed her, and anyone else who might be within earshot. His father who was sitting at the kitchen table having a coffee just smiled.

"Hold up a minute you!" Candace halted Ferb while he was on his way to the stairs. "Just where do you think you're going?" Ferb contemplated his answer "I'm going to take care of something that only I can take care of – by myself." He ascended the stairs and closed a door. The next sound Candace heard was the shower being turned on.

The evening was quiet. After dinner Candace went out to the movies with Jeremy, Linda & Lawrence watched a bit of television, Phineas kept checking his e-mail and Ferb decided that he was going to make a dent in a novel he'd been intending to read for a while.

The redheaded teen went up stairs to talk to his brother. "Ferb? I don't know if I really want to go to this campfire. I mean, what are we supposed to do? I think I might kinda like – I mean 'like like' Isabella. But I just don't know about this, you know?" The British brother placed his bookmark, looked at his shorter brother and said, "Well, if you like her the way you appear to like her, you'll try some of the things that she likes. That way, you show that you're willing to try new things. Campfire can either be very rowdy or very relaxing. This one is for Fireside Girls. I think it'll be somewhere in the middle."

Meanwhile over at Isabella's house, Isabella had invited Gretchen over for a sleep over. Mrs. Garcia-Shapiro had made up some sandwiches, cookies and juice for the girls. The two girls were talking about the campfire, the troop and of course the neighbour boys across the street. "I'm so glad you were able to stay over tonight Gretchen." Isabella told her friend. "It seems to me that Phineas and Ferb get to have sleep overs every night. After all the are only step-brothers, and they share a room." She finished. Gretchen took off her glasses 'here we go again' she thought to herself. "I don't think boys have sleep overs the way girls have sleep overs." She finished aloud and took a cookie and a sip of juice. Isabella motioned for her friend to come over to the window. "You know, if we're lucky we might be able to see if Phineas is looking out his bedroom window. He does that sometimes you know." The younger of the two looked appalled. "You spy on them?" The raven-haired girl looked shocked. "I wouldn't call it spying. I'd call it…Conscious observance of the neighbour. Hood! The neighbourhood." Her friend looked sceptically at her. "Right. Sure. Can I take a look?"

The next morning was the same as every other morning. Phineas woke up before 7am and threw his pillow at his brother's head. "Morning Ferb!" Candace stumbled downstairs shortly thereafter. The boys didn't have any plans for today – yet. They both knew that would change. "I got that e-mail from Isabella." Phineas told his brother, who just raised his eyebrows in question. "We need to bring blankets, mugs, flashlights and marshmallows." Their mother asked them what they needed those items for. "We're going to the Fireside Girls' Campfire tonight with Isabella and her troop. It's supposed to be a regional thing and they're allowed to bring family and friends." "Do you know where this will take place Phineas?" His father asked him. Phineas looked worried "She said it'll be at The Landing. But I don't know where that is."

There was a knock on the patio door. Linda went to see who it was; though she already knew. There were two girls standing on the patio of the Flynn-Fletcher backyard. "Isabella, Gretchen, good morning to you." "Good morning Mrs. Flynn-Fletcher." The girls said in unison. "Come in, please, make yourselves at home." Linda invited them into the kitchen for breakfast. "Morning Phineas. Ferb." Isabella greeted the brothers. Ferb nodded at the pair and gestured to a couple of chairs for them to take a seat. "Isabella," Phineas began "I was wondering," 'Oh my goodness!' she thought to herself. 'Is he really going to say something, something that I've wanted to hear him say for so long?' the neighbour boy continued, "where is The Landing?" The look on Isabella's face was blank. She didn't want to show disappointment in front of Phineas's parents. "The Landing is that part of the beach between the actual beach and the adjacent park." The redheaded boy nodded, he knew where that was. "How are we supposed to get there?" Ferb asked. "My mom's going to drive our troop there because she's got a van with enough seat belts for us. But with the whole troop, we don't have any more room for guests, sorry guys." Gretchen responded. "Actually, I was getting a ride from my mom. Everyone's meeting at my place anyhow." Isabella said "You guys can get a ride with me." "Thanks Isabella, that sounds great!" Phineas exclaimed. "Ferb, ladies, I know what we're going to do today!" He continued. "We're going to combine flashlights and blankets so that we don't have to carry too much and accidentally leave anything behind."

The teens headed out to the backyard and started to collect what they needed for the day's project. Ferb noticed that a moving truck was driving slowly down the street. He checked to see if anyone else noticed. Nope, no one had. Linda came out of the house carrying a tray of cupcakes. "I'm going to welcome the new neighbours to the street. Do you kids want to come along?" "No thanks mom." Phineas answered.

After a while, the blanket/flashlight combo was completed. Because it was solar powered they had to leave the blankets unfolded over deck chairs to charge up. Buford and Baljeet were walking down the street towards the Flynn-Fletcher house when a group of older teens swarmed a much younger kid. "Hey," Buford yelled and approached the teens trying his best to be intimidating "what do you think you're doing?" The teens looked at him, "None of your business." One of them said. Baljeet took out his cell phone and placed a call. The teens had no idea whom this nerd was calling though they suspected he was probably calling the police or some adult. They ran down the street as fast as they could. Ferb came out of the back gate with his phone to his ear. Both boys hung up. The young kid, a girl, with mouse brown hair was on the ground in foetal position crying. Ferb walked over to her and placed his hand on her shoulder. She started to cry harder and she tried to escape, but with Ferb standing in front of her and Baljeet and Buford off to either side, she shrank into herself. The green-haired teen motioned to the other two to back away and he did so himself. That's when Gretchen came out of the back gate. "What's wrong here?" She asked. "Those older teens were swarming this girl." Buford answered the question. Gretchen approached the young girl. "My name's Gretchen, what's your name?" The young girl just looked at her with very damp eyes. Phineas and Isabella came out to the sidewalk. Gretchen asked if they knew who the little girl was. No one did. Isabella tried talking to the young one "I'm Isabella, are you from around here?" The little girl shook her head 'no'. "Do you live near by?" Phineas asked. The little girl looked very scared but didn't answer. "If you want help, you need to tell us." Buford said in his most annoyed tone. The girl's lower lip started quivering. "There, there… it's all right." Isabella said trying to give the little girl a hug, but it's really hard to hug someone who's stiff as a board.

"Let's go Jeet." Buford stated. "I think we should try to find out who her parents are or where she lives." Baljeet responded. "She's not being very cooperative is she?" Buford pointed out. "How would you feel, Buford, if you were in a strange place with strange people and just got swarmed?" Gretchen asked him. Ferb once again tried to offer assistance to the little girl. She just shrank away from him. He turned around and with a dejected look on his face walked over to his brother. "I believe she's Androphobic." Phineas looked at his brother in confusion. "It means she's afraid of boys." "I knew that…" Phineas said. "You guys go back to the yard. Gretchen and I'll see what we can find out and hopefully get her home to her parents." Isabella told the four teen boys.

Gretchen looked at the young girl. "Do you live near by?" The girl nodded. "Can you talk?" Isabella asked. She was used to dealing with Ferb who didn't talk much, but he had Phineas to translate body language to everyone else. The girl tilted her head to the side. "What's your name?" Gretchen tried. The girl's mouth opened slightly and a faint whisper emerged. "Sorry, I didn't quite catch that, can you repeat that?" Gretchen asked. A little louder, but still very much a faint whisper the girl responded "Ashley." "How old are you Ashley?" Isabella inquired. Again, barely audible "Nine." Isabella and Gretchen exchanged knowing looks. They offered a hand to Ashley to get her to her feet. "Do you know which house is yours?" Isabella asked. Ashley nodded and pointed down the road. "Would you like us to walk you home?" Gretchen inquired. Ashley offered a very small, quick smile and in her faint whisper said, "I live six houses away on the other side of the street." The two Fireside Girls walked Ashley home.

The boys were in the backyard just hanging out and talking. Buford was laughing at Ferb's expense. "So, feels good to have someone scared of you doesn't it?" Ferb looks at Buford insulted. "No. No it doesn't." Baljeet interjects "Not everyone wishes others to be scared of them Buford. Ferb wanted to help that little girl out and she was genuinely scared."

The three girls walked down the street and up the walkway to the house Ashley identified as hers. She half-smiled at the older girls and whispered "Thank you. I should get inside now." She then took out a key and opened the door to let herself in. Ashley's mother and Mrs. Flynn-Fletcher were in the living room having coffee and cupcakes. Linda recognized Isabella and Gretchen and waved to them. "Tell the boys I'll be home in a little bit." The girls acknowledged her and left. Ashley very quietly slipped into the living room and sat down in the far corner where she continued working on a 3D puzzle of Notre-Dame Cathedral.

"It was nice to meet you Sharon." Linda thanked her host. "I'd love to meet your daughter some day, she sounds just darling." She continued. Sharon looked over to the little girl in the corner. "She's just over there. Ashley, this is Mrs. Flynn-Fletcher from down the street. I might ask her daughter to baby-sit you every once in a while." Ashley nodded and gave a weak smile. "Would you like to come back with me and I'll introduce you?" Linda inquired. The girl with mouse-brown hair looked nervously to her mother, who nodded 'it's all right'. Ashley went back to the front door and put her shoes back on.

Soon, Linda and Ashley were at the Flynn-Fletcher house. Candace was, of course, on the phone with Stacey. Linda just walked straight into the living room. Ashley on the other hand stood just inside the entrance and slipped off her shoes. "Candace, I've got someone here whom I'd like you to meet." "Sorry, Stacey. My mom's apparently got someone I've just _got_ to meet." Candace then closed her phone. "Well?" Candace asked while she was looking around the room. Linda turned around looking as well. "Oh, there you are. Come on in dear." Linda put a motherly hand on Ashley's shoulder and brought her into the living room. Candace looked at the girl with disdain in her eyes. "Candace, I'd like you to meet Ashley. You'll be babysitting her once in a while so her mother can run errands and such." Linda informed her daughter. "But, but, but… Who'll look after the boys?" Candace replied. Her mother looked at her with a 'not now'. However, at the mention of 'boys' Ashley froze.

At that moment, Ferb came downstairs wearing his jeans and a sweater. As he was carrying an armload of laundry he didn't see the little girl standing beside his mother. He accidentally bumped into her and his laundry spilled out of his arms onto the floor. "Sorry." He said. Ashley stood there frozen looking as though she was about to cry. The tall teen boy quickly picked up his laundry and headed to the laundry room. Linda noticed the girl tense up under her hand. "It's all right, that's just my son." She said. "Ferb, come here please, I'd like to introduce you to our new neighbour from down the street." The green-haired teen came back into the living room. Candace watched this entire exchange and burst out laughing. "Maybe Ferb should baby-sit her. I'm sure they'll have great conversations." He turned to face his sister. Candace stopped laughing long enough to notice the glare on his face that told her 'Don't go there!'. "What's wrong with you people?" Linda demanded. Phineas chose this moment to come in from the garage. "Oh, hey! You're that girl from earlier today. I'm Phineas, this is my brother Ferb, my sister Candace and my mother." A tear started to slide down Ashley's cheek. "Don't cry. I didn't mean to scare you. I guess I'll just leave now." Phineas was hurt. He made a little girl cry. 'It's not fair, I didn't do anything but try to be nice, but Ferb told me that she's scared of boys for some reason.' He thought to himself as he left the room. 'This must be how Ferb felt earlier. Man this sucks.'

The two brothers collected their blankets, mugs and the marshmallows and left for Isabella's place. "Later mom, not sure when we'll be back."

Mrs. Garcia-Shapiro greeted the two boys at the front door and offered them a snack prior to leaving for the beach. Isabella and Gretchen went upstairs to change into their Fireside Girl uniforms. "Your mother said that she was going to meet the new neighbours today. I'm sorry I couldn't go with her I was busy getting things done." Phineas nodded that he knew his mother did this today. "Yeah, she went over to their place earlier. Candace might be babysitting their daughter from time-to-time." The girls came back downstairs in uniform. "Everyone's meeting up here then we're going to caravan to The Landing." Isabella reminded the boys. Ferb opted for the shotgun seat so that Phineas and Isabella could sit together. Everyone arrived shortly thereafter. Ginger had invited her sister Stacey along and by extension Candace. A couple of the other Fireside Girls invited Baljeet and Buford along. Buford was in a foul mood until he realized that Phineas and Ferb were there.

Everyone arrived at the beach and made their way to The Landing. Other troops arrived as well and Isabella greeted those she'd met before. Introductions were made and everyone made their way to the campfire site. One of the regional leaders had started the fire, and everyone picked a spot to sit. Blankets were laid down, and some of the girls prepared S'mores. "Welcome girls, friends and family." The regional leader in charge said. "We'll be enjoying a fine summer's evening tonight, with the sounds of the beach and the crackle of the fire. We've got many new faces this year, I see. I hope that everyone remembers our campfire songs." Phineas looked worried. He didn't know any campfire songs. A chorus of "We remember." Was sounded.

The night progressed. Songs were sung. S'mores were eaten and hot chocolates were drunk. Gretchen started to nod off and rested her head against Ferb's shoulder. He looked over and pulled his blanket over her shoulders. He tried to tap Isabella on the arm to indicate that their friend was falling asleep, but instead he ended up pulling her blanket off her. At the end of the night, Ferb enlisted the help of Gretchen's mother and they got her into the van and buckled in. Everyone said their good nights and most of the girls got into the van. Ginger and Stacey went with their mother, and Mrs. Garcia-Shapiro drove Isabella, Phineas, Ferb and Candace home. This time, Ferb sat in the back seat with Phineas and Isabella. "I hope you guys enjoyed yourselves tonight." Isabella said. "Oh, that was fun." Phineas replied, though he didn't sound very enthusiastic. Ferb just nodded. "How often do you do this campfire thing?" Candace asked. "It's just a once a year thing, why?" Isabella responded. "Had I known about this when I was younger, I might have actually joined the Firestarter Girls – or whatever you call yourselves." Candace replied.

"Thanks for the ride Mrs. Garcia-Shapiro." Phineas said as they got out of the car at home. "Not a problem my dears, have a good night." She called after them. The three Flynn-Fletcher siblings entered their house and went to their respective rooms to get ready for bed. "That's not at all what I expected Ferb." Phineas told his brother. "What were you expecting then?" Ferb asked in return. "I don't know, it seemed kinda… calm and girlie." The green-haired teen looked at his roommate in astonishment. "They are girls. Of course it's going to be 'girlie'. Why did you agree to go then?" Phineas looked at his feet and mumbled something. Ferb stared at him. Phineas tried again. "You were right Ferb. I thought it'd make Isabella happy, I thought… I don't know, maybe…maybe I'd have a chance to…." Ferb just smiled and tried to stretch out his arm. "Good night brother." He said. "You at least got to put your arm around someone tonight." Phineas pointed out. The taller brother sighed. "Gretchen fell asleep against my arm, I really didn't have any choice. Now if you please, you're going to wake up in a matter of hours and I want some sleep."

The next morning Isabella got a phone call from her second in command, Gretchen. "Isabella, I've got a problem. I don't remember what happened. I was having my hot chocolate and S'mores, the next thing I know I'm being woken up by my mother to get into the house and I've got Ferb's blanket draped over my shoulders." Isabella snickered at her friend's so called problem. "You fell asleep against his shoulder. He helped you to the van. You did better than I did. I couldn't even get Phineas to hold my hand." "Sorry to hear that, chief." Gretchen continued "I've still got some stuff over at your place from the other night, do you mind if I were to come over in a few hours to pick it up?" Isabella glanced over at the sleeping bag in the corner of her room. "Not a problem at all, any time."

It was completely out of character for Ferb to wake up first, but he did that morning. It was past 7am, so it's no wonder he got up. He decided to give Phineas a taste of his own medicine, he threw his pillow at his brother's head. Phineas woke up unimpressed. "What was that for?" The green haired brother smirked and replied "Pay back for all the other mornings." The shorter one rubbed his head. "That really hurt. I didn't realize. I'm sorry for doing that to you everyday." Ferb just tilted his head to the side, shrugged his shoulders and left the room.

Lawrence and Linda were downstairs having breakfast as Ferb entered the kitchen. "Good morning son." His father greeted him. "Your mother and I've got lots to do at the shop today, mind your sister and try to keep her calm." Ferb smiled. "I've got no plans for today. Father, may I discuss something with you, in private?" Phineas ran down the stairs two at a time. "Morning everyone!" He greeted. "Ferb, I know what…" Ferb clamped his hand over Phineas's mouth. "I'm not doing anything today." Phineas looked down-hearted. "But, but, Ferb…. We always do something, everyday." The British teen just shook his head. "Not today." He said.

Lawrence motioned for his son to follow him into the den. "What's on your mind?" Ferb took a seat on the computer chair and studied his hands. "Well, you see, Phineas has some feelings for a friend of ours. But he's not sure what to do." His father nodded. "You want to discuss Phineas." The teen shook his head and took a breath. "I'm torn. I think I really like this one girl, but she barely knows that I exist. Then last night, a friend of ours fell asleep against my arm. I kinda liked it." Lawrence knelt down so he was face to face with his son and looked him in the eye. "So, on the one hand you've got a girl who doesn't know you exist. And on the other hand you've got someone who's a friend whom you might have feelings for." Ferb nodded. His father continued "Do you know if your friend has feelings for you?" The green haired teen shook his head. He had no clue if she liked him or not. "I'm usually trying to ignore Isabella's trying to get Phineas' attention; and vice-versa. I'm asking you for the answers Dad. Is that not what parents do? Give their kids the answers to life's questions?" Lawrence removed his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Ferb, it's not that easy. As your father I can only guide you to make the decisions and find the answers that are right for you. Think about what I said. I'm sure everything will work out in the end." With that being said, he left the den leaving his son to ponder the mysteries of adolescence.

After breakfast was finished Linda and Lawrence left for the shop. Phineas went to sit under the Oak tree in the back yard. Candace was making plans with Stacey for the day and Ferb went out the back gate, down the street and over to the park. There he sat down and watched the pond and thought about what his father said. 'On the one hand there's this one girl whom I barely know, whom I've maybe exchanged 10 words with ever. But who's the most beautiful person I have ever seen. On the other, there's Gretchen. She's smart, witty and cute. She's also a friend of Isabella's. That could be dangerous.' He started to run his fingers through his hair and pulled. 'Gretchen.' His thoughts continued. 'I don't know what to do. Should I just ask her – Hey, Gretchen? How about we go out sometime? —That sounds lame. – I was thinking, maybe we should chaperone Phineas and Isabella… - That sounds worse.'

Phineas was wondering what was bothering his brother so much that he didn't want to do anything today. Ferb even had to have a talk with dad about something. The back gate opened and Isabella stepped in "Whatcha doin'?" She asked, as she always did. "Nothing. Just wondering what's wrong with everyone today." She came over and sat beside him. He glanced over, that's where Ferb would always sit, but Ferb's not here today. Phineas sighed and Isabella placed her hand on his. "It's okay." She told him. He looked at her.

Gretchen and Adyson walked through the park reminiscing about last night's campfire. "Did you see that really cute blond boy that Kim from Troop 22475 invited?" Adyson asked her friend. Gretchen, who found her shoes very interesting at that moment, replied "Oh, yeah… blond boy. Cute." Adyson stopped walking and grabbed Gretchen's arm and spun her around. "You're thinking about someone aren't you?" Gretchen blinked in surprise. "Thought so! Well, spill. Who is he?" Gretchen looked nervous. Adyson was much taller and stronger than she was. "No one. Just tired, that's all. Isabella and I were up late the night before preparing Troop stuff." The taller of the two smirked. "So, if I were to say… ask out a certain green haired boy… you'd be okay with that?" The bespectacled one looked up to her friend. "If you want to, who's going to stop you."

Ferb walked around the park. He still didn't know what he should do. He'd heard whispers that there were a few of Isabella's Fireside Girls troop who were eager to go out with him. Apparently there's someone else besides Isabella who wants to get Phineas to notice her, but he also heard that there's to be no competition for Phineas's affections. 'Why is it so hard to be a teenager?' He thought to himself and kicked a stone, hard. "Ouch!" A familiar female voice complained. He looked up and saw two friends. The smaller one was holding the side of her head. 'Great, just fabulous!' He thought, then went over to see if she was all right. "Sorry about that, here let me take a look." He said to Gretchen as he removed her hand and placed his own over the same spot. He felt blood; he took a closer look. "You're bleeding. Let's get you cleaned up." Gretchen looked at her hand and sure enough there was blood on her fingers. Adyson moved a stone in front of Gretchen's foot so she would stumble, and when the smaller girl slipped on the stone Ferb caught her by the arm. "I think she's a little unsteady on her feet after that blow to the head." The taller girl told the British boy. As if he didn't feel bad enough as it was he asked "Gretchen, may I help you back to my place?" "I'll be fine. I just need to…" Gretchen started. "She's delirious. I'll help you support her on the way back to your house." Adyson finished for her friend. The two taller teens assisted the smaller one back to the Flynn-Fletcher backyard. When they came through the gate they saw Phineas sitting with Isabella talking under the tree. Ferb helped Gretchen into the kitchen and Adyson went over to sit with the pair.

Isabella noticed the Fletcher brother in the kitchen with her second in command. "How sweet. Have they started going out?" Phineas was vying for a better look; he didn't see anything out of the ordinary. Just his brother talking with a friend. "He hit her in the head with a rock." Adyson practically laughed. Both Isabella and Phineas looked at her. "What? Why did he hit her in the head with a rock?" The oblivious one asked. The brunette looked at the redheaded boy "To get her attention." She explained, slowly. Isabella looked sceptical. "That doesn't sound like Ferb. He wouldn't hurt someone on purpose. Would he?"

Ferb was holding a damp towel to Gretchen's head. "I'm sorry. I… I…" She grabbed the hand holding the towel. "If you say 'I'm sorry' once more I'm going to hit you Ferb Fletcher." That made him stop. He looked her in the eye and blinked once. She punched him on the shoulder. He took the towel back to the sink, rinsed it and ran the hot water over it once again. He handed his friend the towel this time and turned his back to her and placed his hands on the counter top and dropped his head. "Do you have a headache?" He inquired. "A bit of one, yeah." She responded. Ferb winced. That was the last thing he wanted to hear. He left the kitchen and came back a few minutes later. "These are the only pain killers we've got in the house. If you're not allergic, you can take one." "Thanks, but I'll be fine." Gretchen said. Then she got up, went over to the quietest of the brothers and hugged him making sure to keep the damp side of her head away from his chest. He stood there for a moment and before he knew what was happening he tilted her face upwards and he leaned over and lightly, but with meaning, pressed his lips to hers. She didn't resist; in fact she parted her lips a little and started to kiss him back.

Adyson walked through the patio door and saw the two friends kissing when Ferb's eyes suddenly flew open then slowly closed again. 'I wonder what could have flustered The Un-phasable Ferb Fletcher.' Adyson wondered and turned back outside before she laughed out loud.

Gretchen was in the Flynn-Fletcher kitchen kissing the quietest boy she's ever met. As she was in the middle of doing this her eyes flew open and saw his eyes on her. 'I didn't knew Ferb had braces on his lower teeth.' Both closed their eyes again and the kiss continued more passionately this time.

After a couple more minutes, neither of them knew exactly what had just happened. Gretchen walked out to the backyard in a daze. Ferb sat in the kitchen alone.

"How are you feeling now Gretch?" Isabella asked her friend. "Uh, fine I guess." Was the response. Isabella and Adyson looked at each other a little worried. Gretchen was in the house for 20 minutes or so alone with Ferb. "I think we should get her to your place Izy." Adyson suggested. They each took one of Gretchen's shoulders and walked her across the street leaving Phineas once again, alone in the back yard.

The Flynn brother got up and went into the house. "Ferb. Ferb?" The younger of the two looked around and spied the green haired teen sitting in the kitchen. "There you are. May I ask you something?" The British one didn't make eye contact, only nodded. "What happened?" Ferb studied a spot on the table. "I don't know." Phineas was confused. Ferb knew everything. Ferb had a control that he didn't. "What do you mean 'I don't know.'?" The taller of the two brothers suddenly stood up and the chair he was sitting on fell over. "I don't know how I feel, I don't know what happened, I don't know what to do. I. Don't. Know." With that he started to leave the room. Phineas got up and blocked the stairs. "That's not the Ferb I know. Come on. Talk to me. I can help." In a much quieter voice "I hope." Ferb ran his hands through his hair and pulled in frustration. The redhead directed his brother to the living room couch. "Did you really hit her in the head with a rock?" This enlisted a glare from the green haired boy. "I kicked a rock and it accidentally hit her in the head." Phineas looked at his feet. "It's just that Adyson said… you hit Gretchen in the head with a rock to get her attention." Now it was Ferb's turn to look at his feet. "That makes me sound like a monster. I would never intentionally… hurt a friend. What have I done?" He got up and went upstairs.

There was a knock on the front door. Phineas answered. Isabella and Gretchen were there. "Is Ferb home?" Isabella asked. Gretchen was looking intently at the front stoop. "Uh, no. He's not available." Phineas scratched at his ear. Isabella nodded. "Do you want to come in? I'm sure he'll be home soon." The girls declined. Isabella put her arm around her friend's shoulder and they left.

The bedroom door opened and hurricane Phineas entered. "That's it Ferb. You tell me what happened right now. Or, or, I'm calling Candace. I mean it. I'll call her." He then realised what Ferb was doing, or rather not doing. Phineas's brother was lying face down on his bed with a pillow pulled over his head. He didn't appear to be breathing. The younger brother pulled the pillow away and the green haired boy gasped. "The girls stopped by just now." Phineas informed him and continued "Gretchen looked upset. Kinda like you right now." Ferb rolled over and sat up. "What of it? I can't change what happened." The younger brother sat down and tried to be sympathetic. "What happened?" Ferb then told his version of the story. "After the rock hit her in the head, I noticed that the wound was bleeding. Adyson and I helped her back here and I took her into the kitchen to get the wound cleaned up. She punched me in the arm, I kissed her and…" Ferb covered his face with his hands, "…and now she knows about these." He pulls his lower lip down. "I thought you weren't telling anyone about the braces." Phineas stated. "I didn't exactly tell her… she just… found out." The older brother replied. The redhead looked at the teen sitting beside him "But how could she find out if you didn't tell her…. Oh! Bro, you didn't… How did? Who did? What's it like?" The green haired brother looked to the window "Find out for yourself."

"Oh, man." Phineas couldn't believe what he just heard. "I, I, I… Ouch!" Phineas grabbed at the hand that was around his arm. "Don't repeat any of what I just told you." The older brother whispered in a threatening tone. "Okay." The younger one squeaked while rubbing at his sore arm.

Isabella, Gretchen and Adyson were sitting in Izy's room. The smallest one resting her head against her pillow from the other night. Adyson tried again. "So? What happened Gretch?" Isabella spoke up for her friend "Phineas said that Ferb wasn't home." The taller brunette coughed. "Yeah, right. He's probably boasting to all his friends about how far he got with her." Gretchen and Isabella said in unison "He wouldn't." Adyson looked at the second in command of the Fireside Girls troop they all belonged to and confessed. "Gretchen, I walked in on you and Ferb. I didn't mean to, I was just going to get drinks for the rest of us." Isabella looked at both girls incredulously, "You never said you had a thing for Ferb." Gretchen started to cry. She was starting to really like Isabella's neighbour in a way she never thought of before. Adyson tried to make her friend feel better. "I know. It's that accent of his. It just catches you off guard and before you know it… you're…" "Stop it! Stop it right now!" The bespectacled girl screamed. There was a knock on the bedroom door "Keep it down in there you three. I've got the girls over for a card game." "Sorry Mom." Isabella said to the closed door. "I wasn't kidding when I said that I was going to ask him out. You just happened to get that rock to your head, and he was being a great friend and a gentleman." Adyson told Gretchen. "I'm actually very happy for you, you know. You couldn't have fallen for a better guy."

Isabella noticed she had a new e-mail. "Excuse me a minute guys." She said, then turned the computer screen so they couldn't read the message. It was from her neighbour across the street. "Hey, girls." Izy said. "Want to go out for ice cream?" Adyson shook her head "Can't, I'm going out for dinner with my folks. I really should leave soon." Gretchen nodded "Sure, why not." The three girls quietly went downstairs and outside. They started walking towards the park. Phineas was watching from his bedroom window.

"Hey Ferb. I know what we're going to do today. You're not allowed to say 'no'." Ferb knew his brother was only trying to make him feel better so he went along with it, for now. "If I have to think…" Phineas smiled "Oh, I don't think that you'll have to think about anything. Now come with me, we're going out for ice cream." They left the house and headed in the same direction Phineas saw the girls go.

The boys were the first ones to find the ice cream tuck. Phineas pondered which flavour he wanted. Ferb was in the mood for Tiger Tail. He took his ice cream over to a park bench and sat down. Phineas finally made up his mind as the girls appeared. He and the two girls got their ice creams and went over to sit on the bench with Ferb. The British boy glared at his stepbrother, but said nothing. "It's such a nice afternoon." Isabella said. No one responded so she took it upon herself to stand in front of the three friends. "Gretchen. Ferb." The other girl just started to shake her head 'no'. "You two," Isabella continued, "had an 'incident' today." Both of the accused nodded, yes. Something had happened, something that neither of them was sure about. Ferb stood up and grabbed Isabella by the arm and took her over to another bench leaving Phineas and Gretchen sitting alone together. The redhead and the smallest Fireside Girl looked over at their friends at the other bench. Isabella was giving Ferb a hug. Neither knew it, but the other felt betrayed. Isabella and Ferb came back to their friends "We've come to a decision." The raven haired girl declared. "We can either forget everything that happened today and be just friends…" she looked her second in command in the eye. "Or, we can try to see what happens next. However, there is one condition," The Fireside Troop leader finished "we have to agree here and now." Gretchen smiled at Ferb. With a smile he reached out for her hand. Ferb looked at his brother and told him "You. And you," He looked at Isabella then continued "are not allowed to be a third wheel." Phineas's eyes went wide "Did you just set us up?"


End file.
